14 DAY TRIAL // The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission, scheduled to take place in 2011, still lacks a proper name, the likes of NASA's existing Martian rovers, Spirit and Opportunity. In schools across the United States, every kid between the ages of 5 and 18 can submit an essay, saying what name they would like for the rover, as well as presenting a short motivation on why they chose that specific name. On Monday, January 26th, the procedure will be over, and judges will shuffle through all the letters they received. After that, it's up to the adults to continue the procedure. Nine of the most suitable names for the rover will be selected as semi-finalists and will participate in an open poll in March. The public will also be able to vote their favorite MSL name, and the winner of the contest will get a very special prize – a three-day, two-night trip to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Disneyland, together with three members of his or her family.
Children have literally thousands of options to select a name from, but they have to keep in mind that the explanation they give for the name is paramount. Also, when using famous names, they have to ensure that everyone knows these names, or that they belonged to popular objects or people. Many have suggested the name Darwin for the space probe, in honor of the British naturalist Charles Darwin, who wrote the book “On the Origin of Species,” which is still regarded as an impressive work to this day.
Others suggested that the MSL be named Beagle 3, in honor of the ship that carried Darwin around the planet in many of his trips. This name would also honor Beagle 2, the Mars rover built by the European Space Agency, but lost in 2003.
Next week will see the closing of the contest, and the last 9 names to remain in it. Hopefully, afterwards the judges will work quickly and present us with the options, so that we can vote.